Criminal cases against 15% of candidates

Hindustan Times Online

A large number candidates trying their luck in the polling slated for the sixth phase yesterday, have sinister records. Nearly 15% face some kind of a criminal case, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms, which went through their disclosures. Nearly 10% face grave charges such as murder, arson and rioting. Most parties have shown no qualms about fielding candidates with criminal records. In the sixth phase, nearly 32% or 30 out of 94 candidates from the Congress have declared cases against them, followed by 26% or 20 out of 77 from the BJP. Findings from ADR show a candidate with a criminal case is twice as likely to win an election (23%), compared to a candidate without any charges, whose winning chance was just 12%.